WordPress, SEO & Social Media Marketing

When it comes to choosing to choosing a CMS (Content Management System) for your business site, one of the most popular CMSs, WordPress — among other, equally powerful, open-source CMS platforms such as Drupal, Joomla, Expression Engine and more — has long been touted as one of the best options for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Google seems to love it, the blog feature (whether you call it a blog, news or articles) keeps things fresh and dynamic, comments make it interactive and the built in RSS feeds make your content easy to syndicate. While this is all true, what truly makes WordPress one of the best CMS choices is the ease with which default functions can be expanded upon and taken to new heights, thanks to the never-ending availability of plugins. This is what really takes WordPress from an easy to use CMS to the SEO and SMO (Social Media Optimization) “beast” that it can be. Most of you reading this will have some kind of SEO plan in place (at least I hope so), so let’s focus a bit more on social media. It’s 2014, and, like it or not, we live in a social media world. You can’t watch television or listen to the radio without coming across social media references–from hashtags to Twitter handles (@insertusernamehere), social media marketing has become a part of everyday life. It’s hard to believe that 11 years ago, neither Facebook nor Twitter even existed.

How is social media working for you? How are you using social media to grow your online presence, establish brand awareness and/or generate leads? Getting found on Google(and other major search engines like Yahoo and Bing) is key to growing your business, but it’s no longer enough. In fact, it’s almost impossible to talk about SEO without “social signals” being brought up. A truly successful marketing campaign needs to incorporate SEO, social media optimization and social media marketing. Thanks to the aforementioned plugins, WordPress can be key in helping to not only achieve, but to maintain your SEO and social media marketing goals. Whether your WordPress theme or framework comes with built-in options, or you’re using the default bare bones options, WordPress (WP) can always be expanded, depending on your SEO and social media needs.

I am not suggesting that WordPress will suddenly turn you into a SEO or social media guru, but it can certainly give you the jump start that you need. One of the reasons WordPress has become so popular is that it’s user-friendly. It’s relatively easy to use to add fresh content to your site. Having the right tools in place can ensure that you are adding optimized content with a view to sharing efficiently across your social media profiles. If your main business site wasn’t built with WordPress as the CMS, adding a blog/news/articles section to your site might be an option. A custom WordPress blog or news section can be developed, matching the look and feel of your existing site. That way, you can keep your existing site, while adding on the benefits of WordPress.

Over the next few weeks, we will be delving deeper into social media marketing and how it can help to grow your business. For now, here are some basic questions you should ask yourself. Your answers can help you decide what course of action to take next and whether or not you need a WordPress and/or social media consultant.

Does your site adequately represent you and brand in today’s world?

Are you satisfied with your social media presence?

Do your social media profiles bring targeted traffic to your site and generate leads?

Is it easy for visitors to find links to your social media profiles on your site?

Is your content being shared on social media?

Do your social media profiles help you grow your email list?

Do you know how hashtags can help grow your social media presence and potentially generate leads?

Would you like more Facebook shares/likes and retweets on Twitter?

Do you utilize video in your social media marketing campaign?

Do you have control over how your content is shared on Facebook, Twitter and Google+?

By utilizing plugins or through custom, built-in functions, WordPress makes growing your social media presence a lot easier than your conventional, static HTML site or some of the other CMS options. Social sharing buttons(like the ones you see on this and thousands of other sites) are a breeze, encouraging your visitors to share your content. More advanced sharing options can be introduced, like share gates and content lockers. Facebook Open Graph tags can be added right from the editing box, giving you control over how your content is shared on Facebook. Custom titles and descriptions can be used for Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter. These are just some of the simple ways WordPress can help grow your social media presence and we will be covering these topics in depth over the next few weeks.

Whether you decide to go it alone or hire a social media consultant, one thing is for certain – your business could probably benefit from an efficient social media marketing campaign. Contact Mitra Creative to discuss your WordPress and social media marketing needs.